The Packers transition year without Aaron Rodgers took another blow with the loss of David Bakhtiari to a season-ending surgery.
The left tackle gave the news to reporters on Friday that he will undergo another arthroscopic surgery to his left knee, which doctors are confident has a cartilage issue.
Bakhtiari, 32, said he hopes to be ready by camp next year.
“I hate it. I know the club hates it. It’s just not a great situation for anyone to deal with,” Bakhtiari said. “The human side of it, it took a lot of stress, a lot of time on my end, but the clarity is to know we finally know what the problem is, and we can address the problem.
“That’s the, I guess, glass-half-full part of the scenario. So, that’s where we’re at. That’s the pill I have to swallow.”
The three-time Pro Bowler was placed on injured reserve in Week 4 because of a knee problem with his femoral condyles that he said had nothing to do with the torn ACL that benched him for most of the 2021 season.
This upcoming surgery that will address the lateral femoral condyle cartilage tear from the initial injury will be his fifth since he tore his ACL in late 2020.
According to Bakhtiari, it wasn’t fixed in the first surgery because there was a chance that it would not cause issues down the line.
“I could’ve been asymptomatic the entire time with that issue, and by addressing it we [might have] just added in a problem that didn’t need to be,” Bakhtiari said. “That’s why it’s like, let’s go ahead and try and see if this is a problem. If it’s not, then great, then we continue on, we dodged a bullet and life is good.
“But now knowing that it is [a problem] would’ve been nice. Hindsight’s 20/20.”
The injury further complicates Bakhtiari’s Packers timeline, as he is under contract for one more season at $21.5 million, none of which is guaranteed.
If the Packers release him, they would eat $19 million in dead money for next year’s cap.
If he stays, he will enter the 2024 season with $40.5 million.
“I think everything’s on the table,” Bakhtiari said. “For me, I can only control what I can control. I think making sure I attack the rehab, win the day, take the bites out of that elephant, finish the elephant, and then decide and see. They have decisions they need to make, what’s best for their franchise. I understood that the minute I got in here.”
Since the problematic knee injury, Bakhtiari has played in just 13 out of 38 regular-season games and only has one game under his belt this season in Week 1 in the 38-20 win over the Bears.
Second-year tackle Rasheed Walker is expected to replace him.
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